Caribbean & Central America - April 2019

ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | IMF visit. On 12-21 March a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited the Dominican Republic (DR) to conduct the discussions for the 2019 Article IV Consultation. In a press release issued following the visit’s conclusion the IMF said that “The Dominican economy continues to perform very well, and substantial progress was made in improving social outcomes. Growth regained momentum in 2018 with recovering real income and, at 7%, growth was the highest in the hemisphere. The expansion brought many discouraged workers into the labour force, increased employment, and helped reduce inequality and poverty. Despite rapid growth supported by monetary policy early in the year, inflation remains contained at 1.2% as of December 2018 and the external position is strong. It described the outlook as “favourable” with growth expected to moderate to around 5.5% in 2019,” consistent with potential output growth, inflation to rise to the central bank’s target range as food and oil price shocks fade, and the external position to remain in line with fundamentals.” The IMF report also notes that while the economy may be facing headwinds from a slowing global economy, "domestic demand can be stronger than expected, supported by solid income and credit growth".